The Perfect Mistake
by an addict
Summary: ON HIATUS: When a new town project goes wrong, Luke and Lorelai are brought closer together... and as a lot more than just friends. But how will they deal with the town's mistake? And how will it effect their friendship? Please R&R!
1. Another Town Tradition

**Chapter One - Another Town Tradition in the Making**

"Jeez, Taylor, do you honestly think that I'd sign and then LIE about it?" Luke screamed.

He had been arguing with Taylor on and off all morning over Taylor's newest project: a town play, right in the middle of the square. And though Luke hated the idea, there was nothing he could do to object justifiably. Until Taylor forged his name on the list of 'volunteer participants'.

" Get OUT! I'm not taking any part in another one of your ridiculous town traditions," and before Taylor could object, he added," And that, my friend, is final."

Taylor opened his mouth to argue, but seemed to think better of it. With a frustrated sigh he turned and walked out of the diner, while Luke returned to filling coffee mugs.

"Coffee, please."

Just when he thought the morning was doomed to be a miserable one, he heard her voice.

"I won't contribute to your death," he replied as she followed him around.

" Oh, I see. But you can contribute to theirs? Hey Kirk, how do you feel about Luke contributing to your death? How bout you Andrew?"

" Sit down, Lorelai," he held back a smile as he ignored her interrogation of his other customers.

" Anywhere?"

" Anywhere." She smiled and walked to an occupied table.

" Would you mind moving?" she joked, while they stared at her in disbelief.

" Ah, Jeez. I hate when you do that," Luke grumbled as he directed her to an empty table.

" Oh, but Luke! You said anywhere..."

" Sit here-"

" And you'll get me my coffee?"

" No, I won't be contributing to your death, haven't I made that clear?"

" You will if I pay you," she bantered.

" How bout you don't pay me, and you try tea? Maybe some fruit?"

" Or I can pay someone else to kill me... but really, I'd like it to be someone who can look good doing it. And those employees over at Weston's... Not so attractive, let me tell you..."

"Will decaf work?" he asked, ignoring the fact that she just insinuated he was attractive. He smiled at the thought.

"Does it ever?"

" You've never tried it."

" Luke, you are incredibly stubborn today. Death. Now. Please. And look pretty while you're doing it..." she flirted.

" I don't do anything looking pretty," he argued.

" Oh, of course you do. Don't be so hard on yourself. Like that one time, when you were fixing my dryer and I made you try on that-"

" If I get you the coffee will you shut up?" he asked, knowing the answer.

" Only if it comes with a danish," she answered as he walked away. He returned with her coffee and a danish as she clapped excitedly.

" Finally. I mean, really Luke. If you keep up these games, you're gonna lose your favorite customer..."

" I don't believe that for a second," he replied, and went back to his work.

A minute later, Taylor was back.

" Out, Taylor!" He screamed, walking towards the door.

" Really, Luke. I don't see how you run a business treating people the way you do.." he sighed.

"- Exactly what I was saying, Taylor!" Lorelai butt in.

" Well, thank you Lorelai, I'm glad to see that someone else-"

" She was kidding. Now get out!"

And once again, he was gone.

"What was all that about?" Lorelai questioned.

" His new project. The town play. He signed my name on that stupid volunteer list thinking he would trick me into taking part..."

" Yeah, really.. Who would sign your name! We all know you'd never..." _Uh-oh. _

" I would never sign that. I hate plays..."

" Oooh! Rant! Three, two, and ONE!"

" They're long, they're boring. And it's not like we can't see it on film now anyway. Then the fact that we all KNOW each other. Like hey, look at Kirk up there, acting as though he's a brave, undefeatable hero.. When in reality, we all know he sleeps with a damn nightlight. What's the point?"

" I resent that, Luke. Mother got rid of my nightlight atleast two months ago," Kirk said, then returned to his breakfast.

Lorelai giggled at the mention of Kirk's nightlight. " And he's hardly a hero. Remember when he tried to save Cinnamon from that tree! No offense Kirk!"

Luke stopped his rant and actually smiled at this. " Exactly."

" Now that you're in a good mood. I have something to tell you that's gonna make you hate me again."

" What's that?" Luke asked distractedly. He was staring at the window where Taylor was arguing with Miss Patty.

" You know that volunteer list that your name just happened to appear on?"

" You mean the one that Taylor's been shoving in my face; the one that he forged my name on? What about it? "

" Oh nothing. It just wasn't Taylor who signed your name," she said acting nonchalant as she finished her coffee.

" KIRK!" He screamed, turning to the next table where Kirk jumped a mile high.

" As much as I would love to put the blame on him, no. It was Lorelai Gilmore," she admitted, waiting for his reaction.

" WHAT!"

" Yeah, I know! What was that Rory thinking!" she joked.

" Lorelai..."

" I knowww. I'm sorry Luke, I thought I told you already. Apparently, not."

" What- when- why would you sign me up for a PLAY? Was it some kind of practical joke!"

" Noooo. But I signed up. And I couldn't go and do this alone, could I? Of course not. And since Rory's not here, I decided you would be perfect."

" In who's world am I the perfect person to participate in another town tradition in the making?"

" Do you have to ask? Mine, obviously.."

" Okay, bad question."

"Are you mad at me?" she gave him a sad face.

" No... at least I got myself out of your mess."

" What?"

" Atleast I -"

" No, I heard you. But you can't back out!"

" I already did."

" Luke! You signed up!"

" No, YOU signed me up."

" But-"

" No."

" But-"

" No, Lorelai."

"Don't tell me this won't be fun. What about spending time with me couldn't be FUN!"

"The part where I'm taking part in a play organized by Taylor."

" I can't believe you don't wanna hang out with me."

" Don't do that."

" Do what?" she said, knowing exactly.

" That. That face. That thing where you make me feel all guilty."

" I have no idea what you're talking about. I just can't believe that after I went through the trouble of arranging time for us... to have fun, and do something different, outside of our normal coffee provider/junkie relationship, and you just want to ruin it all..." she rambled, embellishing the entire situation.

" Jeez, Lorelai, why didn't you just ask me out?" he teased.

" WHAT!" she stopped her ramblings immediately and felt her face turn red at the grin he was giving her.

" Well, I mean... all this talk of wanting to hang out with me, to have fun with me.. Outside of the diner.." he went on, surprised but pleased with how uncomfortable she was growing. But then he saw her eyes light up.

"Are you insinuating you want to do something dirty with me, Luke? Because I was just hoping to have someone to embarrass myself with in front of the town. But if you wanted something else... and are trying to trick me into it-"

" Ah, Jeez. You win okay? I'll do the play. Stop making a scene."

" Making a scene? I'm not making a scene."

"Then why is everyone staring at us?"

" Probably because you wanna do something dirty with me... outside of the diner of course. Don't worry, people. This place is sanitary. He wants to do it out of the diner..." she was really having fun with this.

"If I give you more coffee, will you leave?"

"Why, are you gonna follow me out so we can do something dirty?"

" You're not letting this go are you?"

" After I oh so expertly turned the table on you? No."

" When does this play thing start?"

" Meeting tonight at Miss Patty's. Be there at 8."

" What if I'm not?"

" I'll have to come find you, but I'll bring someone with me. So that when I do, you can't trick me into doing something dirttttttty. I mean, that's the only reason you wouldn't show right? To trick me into looking for you, so you can get me all alone.. Outside of the diner."

" You really have to stop."

" Why, am I making you uncomfortable? Or am I turning you on?"

" You're just getting too much enjoyment from the idea of doing something dirty with me. And last I heard, you had a boyfriend."

" My cue to leave. Thanks for helping me kill myself."

" Anytime."


	2. I Do, For Real

Thanks for all the reviews! This is my first GG fic, and I'm still getting the hang of everything, so feedback was really appreciated... I wasn't really sure of a lot of things : mainly, where Rory is, the time setting, or who Lorelai's bf would be.. So I kinda just threw things in there. I added in that Rory was studying abroad, and the boyfriend's still up in the air. I'm leaving it up to you guys though, so if anyone wants someone specific, let me know... I'll work it in, but it's gotta be in the next chapter! If not, I'll just throw in someone random... I usually hate that, but I'm not sure what else to do since I didn't pick a time setting...

Let me know of anything I can fix or change... I'm still getting used to this site too, so if anyone could tell me how to edit chapters or why I can't always log in, that would be so helpful! Anyway, without further ado...

**Chapter Two : I do... for real!**

":Okay, settle down now, everyone settle down..." Miss Patty stood in front of the small crowd of volunteers, ready to start the meeting just as Lorelai walked in.

She quickly found Luke and went to sit down in the empty seat next to him, just as Carrie beat her to it.

" Well, well, well... if it isn't Butch Danes. I had no idea you would be here..." Carrie cooed, leaning closer and closer to an uncomfortable Luke.

" Yes, it is a surprise now, isn't it Carrie? But Luke would do anything to make me happy.. So there you have it. You're in my seat, hun," Lorelai said, patiently waiting for Carrie to move as Miss Patty continued to try and settle the group.

" I don't think these seats were assigned, Lorelai," she said somewhat disgustedly.

" Oh, you might be right there.. Yeah. But Luke was clearly saving that seat for me, so if you'd mind just scooting down or something..."

" Lorelai, there's no where else to go. And Luke didn't say this seat was saved for anyone, so _clearly _you're wrong."

" Oh, yeah, I can see that justification," Lorelai said sarcastically as Luke helplessly looked up at her. She gave him a look, and immediately he spoke up.

" I was, uh, saving that seat for Lorelai, Carrie. I'll maybe see you around or something," he stuttered as Carrie gave him a disappointed look.

" Jealousy really doesn't suit you, Lorelai. I'll see you around later, Luke," Carrie winked, and then walked off as Lorelai immediately took the now unoccupied seat.

"Ugh, jealousy! I swear that woman would fit right into the title, Desperate Housewives. Isn't she married?" Lorelai rambled, wondering why she was, indeed, jealous of Carrie sitting with Luke. " I mean, I wasn't jealous. It's just I DID sign you up for this after all. You wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for me-"

" That's not something you want to remind me of.."

" My point is, obviously we're going to sit together. I signed us up so I wouldn't have to be in the play alone. I was not jealous," she finished.

" I never said you were.." Luke smirked.

" But Carrie did," she said, muttering the name like it was dirt.

Luke started to answer, but just then Miss Patty started speaking.

" Okay, dears. We're going to start off by going over the scripts and the main points of the production... Then Taylor over here will assign roles."

" Yay!" Lorelai whispered, clapping her hands excitedly. " We're getting scripts Luke!"

" Quiet, Lorelai. This is bad enough without you being all overexcited about it.."

" Oooh, mean AND dirty!" she laughed as she was handed some scripts. She took one and passed it down.

" Ah, jeez," Luke muttered as he opened to the first page.

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" Can you believe it, Luke! We're the best they've got. One day, we're gonna take over this little town with our greatness... I mean, sure. It's a little cheesy.."

Luke gave her a look.

" Okay, it's a lot cheesy. But it'll be so fun. And you get to play lead with yours truly. You made Kirk so mad, Luke! That had to be a bonus."

They were walking back to the diner after their never ending meeting. Apparently signals had been crossed, because Miss Patty wanted to give auditions, while Kirk argued he hadn't had time to rehearse. Taylor wanted to just assign parts, to which Kirk was just as angry. He insisted Taylor hated him, and would cut him automatically.

" Wasn't tonight so exciting Luke?"

" Oh yeah... the best."

" You don't look excited..." she pouted as he unlocked the door to the diner and let her in.

" I'm not jumping up and down if that's what you want," he grumbled, putting on a pot of coffee for her.

" A smile would be nice. What's wrong? I know it's not exactly your thing, but seriously... you're giving the Grinch a run for his money with this whole bitterness thing."

" I don't know about that... I'm just kinda tired. I didn't think the meeting would take that long," he answered, throwing his script down on the counter. " I didn't like how eager Taylor was to give me the lead either. Jeez, it's almost 12, I have deliveries tomorrow... I'm gonna kill Kirk."

" Oh, well in that case.. I'll take my coffee to go. I'll warn Kirk, and thank Taylor. We can rehearse some other time," she smiled, waiting for him to get her coffee and praying he wouldn't think twice about giving it to her, even if it was near midnight.

" Rehearse?"

" Yeah... we're the leads, Luke. We have to rehearse together. We can't get up there and make idiots of ourselves in front of the entire town... especially not if we plan to take over and rule it some day."

" I thought that was the whole point of this thing?"

" To rule the town! I don't think Taylor would approve."

" The whole point of me going was so that you didn't look stupid alone..you're not alone anymore. We can look stupid together," he replied, pouring her coffee while silently debating if he'd like rehearsing with Lorelai. It DID entail more alone time with her, and that was never a bad thing.

" Luke Danes, I am appalled. You seriously want to ruin Taylor's play simply because you think it's okay to look stupid, as long as we look stupid together?"

" When you put it that way, yes," he answered, handing her the coffee.

" Yeah... it does sound appealing when you add that it's Taylor's project. But seriously, just once?"

" Okay.. Just once," he answered, knowing that wouldn't be the end of it.

" Good, once a week until the play starts. Thanks for the coffee, see you tomorrow," she said, grabbing the cup and rushing for the door.

" Once does not mean a week, Lorelai!" he shouted after her, smiling.

" Of course it does, Luke. See ya tomorrow."

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Lorelai couldn't figure out why sleep hadn't come to her yet. Normally at this time she was whisked into a fantasy dream world where she was queen and multitudes of hot guys fed her mallomars every time she snapped. But not tonight. Tonight she was wide awake. No movie could hold her attention; she couldn't think of a single thing to critique, and even when she put in From Justin To Kelly, she just wasn't up to it.

All she could think of were the events of today. Sure, it was a normal day. She had her breakfast, went to work, came home, avoided cleaning, ate junk, and had the meeting at Patty's. Then coffee again at Luke's. Luke. Something about him today was different. He didn't have a haircut... wasn't wearing a new cap. No, he always wore the one she bought him. So what was it? He didn't act any differently. He gave her her coffee. They bantered and flirted. She talked him into doing something he didn't want to do. All was normal; except it wasn't. There was something about him that she couldn't get out of her mind. And as frustrating and annoying as the nagging feeling was, she was comforted with her thoughts of Luke. _Luke thoughts... that's different. _

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" Ready to rehearse, buddy!" Lorelai was sleep deprived, but she'd had 4 cups of coffee this morning and her energy was far from wavering. She sat on the stool at the counter of Luke's, wide-eyed and downright cheerful. Luke, however, was the complete opposite.

"What in the hell are you on this morning? No more coffee for you.." he grumbled, before she could even order.

" I've had four cups, Luke. You can't honestly tell me you'd deprive me of my fifth? And to think I was saving the best for last..."

" Last? You were honestly going to go the whole day with five cups of coffee?" He looked at her suspiciously.

" Well... by last I meant before rehearsal.." she grinned.

"That sounds more believable," he half-smiled, then asked in all seriousness, " How many cups do you go through a day?"

" You don't even wanna know, my friend."

" Right. Ready?" he asked, grabbing his script from under the counter.

" Nooo, you haven't given me my coffee, you forgetful old man," she looked at him in horror as he walked in the opposite direction of the coffee. " You weren't serious, were you?"

" Of course I was."

" Luke, depriving me of coffee when I haven't slept well is dangerous to your health. And we all know what a health freak you are... give me the coffee and you'll live an extra ten years, I swear," she rambled as he shook his head and poured her a cup - to go.

"Where are we rehearsing?" she asked, as he walked to the end of the counter and she sipped her coffee.

"Not at the diner. I was thinking upstairs, but we could go to your place..."

" What's wrong with the diner ? It has all the food... all this wonderful coffee.."

" It also has customers. Rude ones. Who stare at anyone doing something out of the ordinary, like rehearsing for a play, that, by the way.. I didn't sign up for. I don't want to rehearse for. And I really don't wanna rehearse for it in front of the town, because you know once one person sees it, they ALL come to see it..." he ranted.

" Well, I don't know if our performance will be that entertaining... but I do see a point. Upstairs is fine.. As long as we're rehearsing - nothing dirty now, Luke," she grinned.

" Ah, jeez. Let it go, Lorelai."

" Never!"

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Luke couldn't sleep. He couldn't eat. He couldn't concentrate on anything. In fact, Caesar had sent him to bed last night and finished work, including the dinner rush, alone. How could he be this nervous over a play?

Maybe it was the fact that he was marrying Lorelai.

Sure, it was fake. And sure, it was stupid to be nervous. But he was. Even after all of those rehearsals, he was nervous. Rehearsal. Just thinking about them made him queasy. Sure, she had said once a week, but Lorelai had quickly convinced him to rehearse nearly every chance they had. She was determined to perfect her performance, and she wouldn't stop til his was too. And now here it was, the day of the play, and the end of rehearsals.

But they'd never fully rehearsed the wedding scene.

At the first rehearsal, they sort of just stumbled upon it. They didn't kiss though; they both sort of laughed it off and agreed to go back to it.

The next rehearsal, they skipped it completely. And the next, and the next. Until about a week ago, when Lorelai insisted they return to it, because, as she had put it, " We can't look like idiots in front of the entire town!"

So they rehearsed the wedding again. They practiced over and over until it was perfected. They practiced until they knew the play better than they knew each other.

They practiced until they had nothing else to practice but the kiss. And then they had awkwardly decided that it wouldn't be good if they perfected the kiss, because the town would know something was up. And the last thing they wanted was the town thinking that they had kissed before. And Luke had stupidly agreed; God he wished they could have practiced that kiss.

Lorelai couldn't figure out what about kissing Luke made her so nervous. At first, she was nervous of the whole wedding scene. The idea of "marrying" Luke was both nerve-racking and surprisingly exciting to her. But kissing him? Really kissing him? She wasn't sure if she was up for it. Sure, it had crossed her mind before... what would it be like to kiss Luke? But those thoughts were always pushed to the back of her mind, never thought of or spoken of to anyone else. Now, she'd have her answer in front of the entire town... God, she wished they would have practiced that kiss.

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The townspeople had gathered into the square early that morning, but Lorelai barely noticed the crowds; she was beyond nervous now, and she just needed a familiar face. God, she hated that Rory was studying abroad.

"Lorelai!" she turned around at the sound of her name, and let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Sookie.

"Sook! God, it's so good to see you... I'm so nervous."

" Nervous! Why! You've been excited for this stupid thing for weeks!"

" I know but.."

" But what?" she ushered Sookie into her makeshift dressing room.

" But I'm getting married! I'm marrying Luke, Sookie!"

Sookie laughed. " But not for real.. Yet!"

" I'm going to ignore that last part and save my call for the crazies for a later date... It's just that I've practiced and practiced and I don't wanna ruin the play just cause I'm a little scared to kiss Luke."

" You're scared to kiss Luke?"

" Of course I'm scared to kiss Luke! Would you wanna kiss Luke!"

"I'm married, Lorelai."

" Exactly.." she said, taking a seat in front of the make up mirror.

"Exactly? You didn't prove a point, you're going insane."

"I know, I know. But.. Ugh! I don't know. I don't know why I'm nervous, or why I'm going insane," she answered, picking up various applicators and trying to do her makeup. She was shaking so badly though that she nearly missed every time.

" If it's any consolation, I'm sure he's just as nervous," she said, taking the applicator from Lorelai. " Let me.." She applied Lorelai's make up perfectly, and just as she finished, Miss Patty came in.

" The show's starting! Let's go girls!"

" Break a leg, Lorelai!" Sookie shouted as Miss Patty nearly dragged her out.

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The curtains closed for intermission, and both Lorelai and Luke had forgotten about their nerves. The wedding scene was up next, and they had no doubt it'd be flawless. The kiss was still troubling them both, but as they were ushered to their spots, they forced it to the back of their mind.

The music started playing and the crowd was asked to stand. The audience's seats were conveniently placed so that they could be the guests at the wedding ceremony. Lorelai took a deep breath after readjusting her veil and walked down the isle to the awaiting "minister," who was, not surprisingly, Kirk.

Luke watched as Lorelai walked towards him, and he felt his breath catch in his throat. She looked even more gorgeous than usual, dressed in a strapless wedding gown that fit perfectly, she walked carefully towards him, holding a bouquet of deep red roses. Her hair was curled and framed her face, making her blue eyes seem even brighter. A small tiara kept her veil in place, and her smile made his heart beat ten times faster. Never before had he felt this way; and yet, it was all "pretend."

It felt like ages until she stood next to him, and he pushed her veil out of her face, just as they had practiced; though at rehearsals, they had used a table cloth, one she complained constantly about because it "blocked her vision."

Kirk cleared his throat and immediately began... " Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today.."

Luke barely heard the words being uttered by Kirk. His eyes couldn't look anywhere but into Lorelai's bright blue ones. And she wasn't too eager to look anywhere else either. He vaguely heard her whisper, " I do," and knew he had to respond soon.

" I do..." he answered with just the right amount of emotion. He noticed the crowd with tears in their eyes, and almost forgot it was all for a show.

" I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," Kirk announced happily, and Lorelai held her breath.

She closed her eyes just as Luke's lips met her own, and immediately she felt a spark. She kissed him back, hard, and pulled away from the most perfect, albeit short, kiss she'd ever experienced.

The crowd clapped excitedly, both for the kiss and the signal of the end of the play, and as Luke and Lorelai took their bows along with everyone else, they saw Kirk and Taylor arguing animatedly. The applause died down as people noticed the disagreement, and everyone struggled to listen.

"I'm sorry Taylor, I thought you knew..." Kirk was apologizing repeatedly. " I could have sworn I told you..."

" Kirk, how in the world would I know that some idiot gave you the power to legally marry couples in Connecticut!"

All of Stars Hollow was quiet as attention was turned to Luke and Lorelai.

"Did we just get married?" Lorelai asked Luke in quiet shock, suddenly uncomfortable with the fact that all eyes were on her. Taylor noticed this and rushed over as the other actors rushed off stage to watch.

" Listen... Luke, Lorelai... there was a slight misunderstanding. I promise things will be worked out.."

" Did you just have Kirk legally marry us, Taylor!" Luke looked ready to pounce, and Lorelai grabbed his arm in case he lost all inhibitions.

" Well, see.. The thing is, I didn't know Kirk had gotten a marriage license. Those aren't very common, you know.. And you have to go through a lot of legal things to attain one, I had no idea that Kirk had..."

Lorelai looked about ready to faint, " So we just said I do... for real!"


	3. I've Always Wanted a Pony

Sorry this chapter took so long. I think it's somewhat shorter than the last two, but I guess that's a good thing? IDK, you tell me, lol. Thanks soooo much to everyone for the feedback, it really helps.

**Severien** - you were the only one who addressed the boyfriend issue, so I decided to use your suggestion of her just having broken up with him previously. He may come back, but I doubt it. My original plan was to have him watching the play and add some drama at the fact that his gf just married someone else... but who needs more drama? The story has enough of its own, don'tcha think! Lol, so yeah, thank you verrrry much for helping me with that :)

Moving on... If anyone can help me figure this website out, I'd be forever in your debt, cause the last chapter turned out all weird.. Like format-wise. Certain things didn't show up or spaces got weird and idk, it's so confusing. Advice would be hugely appreciated.

Anyway, thanks again, and please, please, please review. Even one word would be great, like "Good" or " Horrible" ... seriously, if it's bad, tell me. I'll spare you, I promise.

Without further ado :

**Chapter Three** : **Will Daddy buy me a Pony?**

Lorelai's head was pounding as she slowly opened her eyes. She didn't recognize the hazy surroundings at first, but quickly realized she was on Luke's bed. She rubbed her eyes as she tried to figure out how she ended up here. Glancing around quickly, she realized she was alone. She laid on her back and stared at the ceiling, trying to remember.

_Oh my God. Did I get married? Was that a dream? How did I get in Luke's bed! Why am I wearing his clothes? I must still be dreaming... _

A million questions ran through her head, none with answers. She tried to wake herself up, pinching her arm repeatedly, but to no avail. Quickly she sat up, and immediately felt dizzy.

Laying back down, she began to remember:

" _So we just said I do... for real!" She had screamed, looking to Luke to fix this._

" _I'm sorry, Lorelai... I didn't mean to..." Kirk started, but Lorelai wasn't listening. She began to feel lightheaded, her vision swirled, and suddenly her legs weren't supporting her. She began to fall as everything went black. _

Just then, she heard the door behind her open and saw Luke storm in, he was pacing back and forth before he realized Lorelai was not only awake, but watching him. He immediately stopped and walked towards her; it felt like it took him ages to reach her. Finally, he reached his bed just as Lorelai sat up completely.

"What happened Luke?"

"I..We.. I don't know where to begin," he answered helplessly, collapsing next to her on the bed. She turned to look at him, realizing how defeated he looked.

"Are we?"

He looked at her and suddenly she didn't need his nod to know the answer.

"So.. Mr. and Mrs. Luke Danes, huh?" she unsuccessfully joked.

"So what now? We just get a divorce or what?" she asked. His silence was killing her. She was so confused and so overwhelmed; all she wanted was answers.

"Luke?"

" I don't know. Taylor called his lawyers just for some backround information. They'd never heard of anyone getting married 'accidentally' in a play. He asked every attorney in that damn office, and none of them knew the extent of it. If we divorce-"

"God, that sounds weird, doesn't it?" she asked, and he stopped.

"What?"

" If we divorce.. It sounds so weird."

" Yeah... I never thought I'd be divorcing you," he half laughed, which caught her by surprise. His tone wasn't one of shock or surprise though. She was concerned when she realized he sounded almost sad.

"Yeah... so.. Anyway," she awkwardly tried to ask again how they were going to deal with this, just as Sookie barged in.

"LORELAI! How are you? Are you okay? Let me just add, flannel works for you..." she blabbed, obviously not taking in the seriousness of the situation.

"Sookie!" Lorealai groaned; she knew what her friend was insinuating, and it was nothing like that.

" Right..Sorry. I just came to tell you that Taylor's calling more lawyers, almost everyone in the state, I think. He seems genuinely concerned.. He feels awful about this, you guys. Are you okay? Can you believe you got married like this? It's insane, the whole town is going crazy.."

" The whole town's ALREADY crazy!" Luke growled. He stood up again to start pacing and Sookie took his seat next to Lorelai on the bed.

" So what are you two going to do? Either way, this is gonna be one hell of a year, huh?"

" What do you mean?" Lorelai asked and Luke stopped, turning to look at them.

"Well, I mean.. The lawyers are all so stumped on this, they've never heard of anything like it. Kirk keeps insisting he meant to add in 'fake phrases' to make sure the marriage wouldn't turn out legal. But he swears he forgot, or Taylor messed him up. Something crazy that Taylor was infuriated over. Well, anyway, in Connecticut, for a newly married couple to divorce, you have to attend classes.. You know, marriage counseling and the works. To even be considered for an annulment you have to be married for at least a year, and have a justifiable reason for the marriage to be considered null and void, which actually would make sense, but isn't that horrible for situations like this? I mean, I don't think these situations happen too often, how many towns have a Kirk, after all, but still...you two have really gotten yourselves into something, huh?"

Neither answered, they just watched each others faces drain of any remaining color.

"Maybe I should leave you two alone, you know.. I'll see if there's anything else I can do to help. Everyone cleaned the square, the play was a HUGE success, but Taylor canceled all the remaining showings, obviously. Let me know if you two need anything.. Oh, and Lorelai. You might want to call Rory... share the news before someone else does..."

"Right, thanks Sookie, I'll call you later," she answered absentmindedly grabbing her phone.

Luke got himself a drink and put on a pot of coffee as she dialed.

"Talk fast, please!" She answered on the second ring.

" Rory?"

"Mom?"

" Hey kid, I have some news.."

" Okay, make it quick, I'm actually on my way out.. Are you okay?"

" Almost as good as J.Lo in Gigli."

"That bad? What happened?"

" Well.." she tried to find an easy way to tell her daughter she was just married, but nothing came to mind.

" Mommy got married!" she shouted joyously.

"Funny. Mom, I don't have much time, I'm seriously running late. What's going on?"

" No really, I got married," she said simply.

" Mom, I'm hanging up now..."

" What? No. Seriously, why's that so hard to believe? Your mother's young and desirable. Why isn't it believable that I'm married!" She questioned, genuinely wondering why she couldn't be seen as a married woman.

" It's not that, mom. It's just, I talked to you yesterday and you were still overjoyed over your recent breakup with James and your 'newfound singleness' as you put it . Now I highly doubt that in less than 24 hours you met a man, fell in love, and planned a wedding...or eloped. It's just not you... so I hope I helped you with your boredom for the time being. You can call me and tell me you had twins and inherited a 300 acre farm if you get bored again later, but I've gotta get going.."

"Rory! I got married to Luke!"

" Oh, I forgot! You can tell me about the play later. Yes, and the kiss! I'm sorry, it completely slipped my mind that it was today."

" No, kid, listen up. Luke and I got married. For real. Like by the state of Connecticut, we're legally wed. I have a husband. I'm a wife."

" What!"

" It's Kirk's fault."

" Mom, elaborate, and quick."

" Kirk was minister in the play and legally married me and Luke!"

" Are you serious!"

" No I'm making this all up to see if you'd approve of me and Luke getting together. Yes, I'm serious!"

She rolled her eyes dramatically at Luke, who was pouring her a cup of coffee and listening to her phone conversation; for the first time since those dreadful words he smiled.

"Alright, I'll call you back later tonight. I wanna hear all about this... are you guys divorced yet?"

" Oh no. That's the best part. We can't get divorced until we go to counseling! Or, if we want an annulment, we have to be married for an ENTIRE YEAR!"

" Seriously, did you check if anyone's taping you for a reality show? Cause it'd be less surprising than all of this... I don't know how I'm gonna get anything done at this meeting... And I'm already late, I've really gotta go mom, talk to you tonight."

" Bye babe!"

"Tell Luke, HI DADDY, for me!"

" Not funny."

" Maybe not from your point of view... can you try and talk him into buying me a pony?"

" I'm hanging up on you, evil child."

" Bye!"

She threw her phone aside and sighed as Luke handed her a cup of coffee. She thanked him and followed him back to the dining room table, sitting down across from him.

"So..."

"She wants a pony from her new stepdaddy."

Luke openly laughed at her statement, a deep hearty laugh and though she was mentally and physically exhausted, Lorelai couldn't help but feel lightened at the sound of his laugh. Her eyes met his sparkling ones and she felt butterflies rise in her stomach. _How weird. _She thought, but ignored it.

As Luke's laugh died down, she asked in a quiet voice, " What are we going to do, Luke?"

Her voice sent chills down his spine and his laughter ceased completely. He rubbed the back of his neck and momentarily shut his eyes, thinking.

" I don't know. Maybe we should get you home.. Sleep on things, and we'll figure it all out in the morning."

She nodded, but as she went to stand, she realized she wasn't up for the trek home.

" Luke could I-?" she stopped, feeling almost embarrassed to ask him if she could spend the night.

" Yeah, of course..." he helped her into bed and settled onto the couch himself.

"Thanks," she whispered as she got comfortable, and he turned out the lights.

"Well, you know.. Anything for my wife," he joked, and she smiled in the dark.

They laid in silence for awhile; Lorelai couldn't sleep at all. She felt so guilty.

" Luke?"

" Yeah?"

" I'm sorry."

" For what?"

" It's all my fault. This whole thing."

"You told Kirk to legally marry us?"

" Noo," she giggled, " that still sounds so weird to me. I mean I'm sorry for roping you into this play. If I hadn't convinced you to be in it, we wouldn't be in this position."

" Yeah well... you might still be in this position, just not with me."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"At least now you get free coffee."

" Really! Free coffee? Rory too?"

" Of course."

"Well then, maybe I'm not sorry. If marrying you means free coffee, I'm glad I talked you into it," his stomach dropped at hearing that, even if she was joking. " I mean, especially compared to my other prospects," she laughed.

"We'll work it all out, Lorelai," he said sincerely, and she believed him.

"I know.. But until then, I'm Mrs. Backwards baseball cap," she smiled at the idea, and fell asleep, leaving Luke wide awake to think about that.


	4. Coffee As My Hostage

First off, sorry for how long it's been. I've actually had a lot of time, just limited ideas. I know where the story's going, just having a bit of trouble getting there, so please, bare with me people!

A couple of you asked if the rules of the divorce or marriage were true; they aren't, sorry! I meant to mention that before the last chapter, but it kinda slipped my mind. I made them up for the convenience of this story. So feel free to marry in CT and get a divorce within a year.. If that really suits you, that is.

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! And sorry for how long it takes me to update. I spend like ages fixing it and trying to decide if its okay, then end up not fixing anything... I'm a perfectionist, it's a burden, really.

And now I'm done, thanks again!

**CHAPTER FOUR : Coffee As My Hostage**

The morning, and reality by extension, came entirely too quickly for Lorelai, who was completely content with laying in Luke's bed until everything was all straightened out. But she couldn't. She had to get up, she had to fix things, she had to go to work... she had to stop thinking of everything to do.

She managed somehow to get home without being bombarded with questions, sympathies, or even stares from curious neighbors, which was a relief, though incredibly nerve-wracking. Where was everyone?

As she made her way up to her bedroom, she let the thoughts of her neighbors whereabouts slip her mind, momentarily at least, while she debated going back to sleep, or actually going to work.

She optioned for the latter, and got showered and dressed before hopping into her Jeep and spending the day at the Dragonfly. It being later in the afternoon, she felt the eyes of all the townies watching her, especially as she drove by the Diner, which, not surprisingly, was packed. She stepped on the gas and drove away, praying for a busy day so she could forget everything momentarily.

"Ah, if it isn't the newlywed, back from the honeymoon already? My, my, aren't we looking absolutely charming to-day," droned Michel as she walked up to the desk.

" Answer the phone, Michel, or you're fired," she said, ignoring him and grabbing the mail before she headed to the kitchen.

"But I wanted to give you the honor of answering as 'Mrs. Lucas Danes', instead of just Ms. Gilmore. You want to let everyone know of your marriage, no?" she heard his thick accent all the way down the hall.

" Coffee, now, please, Sookie?" She didn't see Sookie anywhere, just a busy kitchen staff rushing in and out. " Who am I talking to?"

" Lorelai!" Sookie burst out of the walk-in freezer, arms full of random objects for cooking.

"What are you doing here? I didn't expect you back so soon... How is everything? Do these desserts look okay? I'm practicing for tonight's dinner, you know.. And all those vegans, you never can tell with their dinners. Something's always wrong... so I thought atleast they could have fancy desserts. So picky... I don't see how anyone can be so damn selective when it comes to eating. Ah, well.. How are you? Did I ask you that?"

" I'm good, fine. Tired. Lacking caffeine, but this should help some," she replied with a fake smile as she sipped the coffee she poured for herself.

"How's Luke?" She noticed the lack of sincerity behind the smile, but decided not to press it.

" Good, I guess... I don't know. I don't know what to say or do. How to act. This whole thing sucks. What do I tell people? I'm on a date and I add last minute, oh by the way, I'm _married? _Married, Sook. I'm married. I have a husband. ME! Miss I-can't-keep-a-boyfriend-for-over-a-month. And now I've got a husband that I'm divorcing in a year. I don't wanna be a divorcee, and not that it matters, but what are my parents going to say! They're gonna freak. They'll have top lawyers suing all of Stars Hallow for the sake of their own reputation... I wanted a real wedding. One that was planned and where I picked out a dress, where I got cold feet the night before and matching rings. One that was real and to someone I loved, who I wasn't gonna divorce in record speed. God, it's just so... overwhelming? I can't think anymore.. I'm gonna go do some paperwork."

"Alright hun. But... just a suggestion? Maybe your parents could do something? If anyone can find the best lawyer, it's them... and I know you don't wanna hear it, but it-"

" Don't say it could be worse..."

"Okay, I won't. But Luke doesn't want you upset. He'll do anything to make you happy, you know that. He really does care for you Lorelai."

She just nodded and headed to her office, coffee pot in hand. " I'm taking this with me."

" Understandable."

* * *

The diner was packed all day, but not to Luke's advantage. He thought keeping busy would be good, but he couldn't avoid the stares, the whispers, and most annoying of all, the questions.

"Where's the misses, Luke?" He ignored Bootsy as he moved to an older couples table. Atleast they wouldn't question him.

But he saw Kirk join the couple at their table, and quickly returned behind the counter, motioning for Lane to take orders. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help but wonder whether Lorelai would come in. Every time the bell rang, which was frequently, he'd look up, only to be disappointed to see Taylor, Ms. Patty, Babette and Morey, everyone who wasn't her. He hoped she wasn't avoiding him.

* * *

It was 9:30. It was 9:30, and she was starving. A voice inside was telling her to get up, just go to the diner, get a burger, have some coffee. But the other side told her to go to the kitchen. Make some coffee and have a poptart or five.

_Coffee and Luke_, or _Poptarts and Couch?_ The choice was obvious.

She got up and walked to the door, turned around and headed straight to the kitchen. _I'll have a burger tomorrow. _She went through the cabinets, found a box of poptarts and went to fill the coffee pot. She was at a loss.

She picked up the phone.

"Hello?"She heard her daughters voice.

" Rory?"

" Mom?"

" There's no coffee." Lorelai whined.

" In all of Connecticut?"

"Maybe... or possibly just in our house."

"Mom, go to Luke's."

" I can't."

" You know you can."

"No, really. It's closed."

" Since when has that stopped you?"

" Always. I abide by all rules. I need coffee."

"Then go to Luke's. How many cups has he given you today? You might still be able to swing one. You have even more pull now as a wife, right?"

" Um, maybe. I don't know..." she answered nerviously. She couldn't tell Rory she hadn't been to Luke's today. It would sound like she was avoiding him.

" So how many?"

"How many what?"

"How many cups, Cathy Coffee?"

"All together?"

" How many cups did Luke give you today, all together, yes."

"Not a lot."

"How many is not a lot?"

"None."

" None! He didn't- ...you didn't go to Luke's today, did you?"

" No," she answered pitifully.

"Don't avoid him."

" I'm not avoiding him."

" Then why are you at home with no coffee and no food?"

" I'm not hungry."

" I bet you haven't eaten all day. And those poptarts don't count. You told me last week they expired two months ago."

"Did not!" she checked the box though, and immediately threw it in the trash can.

" I can hear your stomach growling from here. Go to Luke's. Call me tomorrow and let me know how it went. Tell him hi for me, and get some new poptarts. I wanna come home to a mom that's not dead and rotting... Though now that you have Luke, you'll have someone to take your body to the morgue before it smells. See, there's a method to Kirk's madness."

"How very Hamlet of you.. Yes, I know the origin. And if I had Luke feeding me, I wouldn't need him to take me to the morgue."

"True, so go eat."

" Fine. But only because it keeps me alive."

" Good reasoning."

She hung up and grabbed her coat, fully intent on going to Luke's. But as she got closer, her legs got heavier, and her mind questioned her movement. By the time she got to Doose's, she couldn't remember a good reason for walking the exta ten steps to Luke's. And it technically was closed.

She turned quickly and entered Doose's, grabbing a basket and heading straight to Aisle 4. She loaded her basket up, then walked to the counter, grabbing 3 boxes of poptarts and some tater tots. She unloaded her items and waited patiently for Taylor to ring her up.

"Lorelai! Didn't expect to see you in here anytime soon, what with your new arrangements. Did you two sort anything out yet?"

" I thought you were sorting it?" she questioned.

" Well, I certainly did try, but there's not too much else we can do, is there? I meant did you and Luke arrange any sort of deals, are you going to continue to date, or are you going to attend counseling, there are all sorts of ways this marriage could play out..."

" Uh, I didn't really think about it, Taylor."

" I see," he responded, raising an eyebrow disapprovingly.

"Avoiding him, ay?"

" What? No.. Not at all."

"So you're cleaning out the coffee isle for no apparent reason? I'd expect your husband to supply you with enough."

"Yeah, well... I, uh, wanted to annoy him. It's sort of a joke, you know how he hates my coffee addiction. I figured I'd uh, hide all these in his cabinets upstairs, as a little surprise later. You know me, the ultimate prankster..." she rambled as he bagged her endless coffee supply.

She threw him some money, then walked as fast as she could back home, never looking back.

* * *

So yeah, that's it for now. Kinda short, I know,but it's just a filler chapter. I'm already working on the next part. It should be up sometime this week, given that people are still reading this.


	5. Hold the Carrots

Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad a few of you are still reading. And a special thanks to **lytab5** for the pm and the advice ! 

I'm finally on track, no more writer's block, so updates should be more frequent... depending on readers & reviews.

Oh, and this chapter is pretty long. I'm not sure that I like it all that much, but I think I can make it work later... so read it and let me know what you think; love it, hate it. I just like seeing reviews. If you hate it, I can pull a rewrite. Seriously. So thanks again and now I'll shut up**.

* * *

**

**CHAPTER FIVE : Hold the Carrots**

Four days passed, and he still hadn't seen a sign of her. No glimpse of her, or her car, or her walking past in a hurry. Nothing.

He knew it wasn't a coincidence. He tried to convince himself that it was, though. And up until today, he had done a good job. He told himself yesterday that third day was the charm. She'd be in for coffee after three days, but she wasn't. And it wasn't. Who ever said 3 was lucky anyway? The magic genie? Was it somewhere in literature, was it written in stone somewhere that three had to be it? Why was three the lucky number? It didn't bring him luck, not now, not ever. Couldn't four be it? He reasoned with himself that it could, but he knew better.

This was no coincidence.

But what was he to do about it? He couldn't drag her back. He was confident she wasn't sick, like he convinced himself two days ago. But she hadn't driven by on her way to work either. Of course, there were alternate routes, but would she go that far out of her way to avoid him? No. She couldn't. But she was. She had to be, it was, after all, four days since he last saw her. What was she eating? She was driving him to insanity and she wasn't even around.

He had to fix this. Or just let her be.

He chose the latter and went back to work, continuing against his will to look up every time the bell chimed.

* * *

After the breakfast was served and over with, Sookie poured a cup of coffee to go, grabbed some leftovers and headed over to the Crap Shack. She hadn't talked to Lorelai in two days and she was beginning to worry. Of course, she figured she was taking the whole "marriage" badly, but she couldn't help the sinking feeling she had.

It didn't get better as she pulled up and saw the dark house. No lights? No noise at all coming from inside. The TV at least should have been on. She tried the door. Locked. They never lock their door. She checked under the ceramic frog. Nothing. The ceramic goat. Nothing. She checked under the empty ceramic pot holder. Nothing. Where the hell was the key? She checked under every ceramic object on the porch and still couldn't find it. The sinking feeling reached a new depth as she banged on the door.

"Lorelai!" She called out.

Silence.

She called the house; she could hear the phone ringing through the door, but the machine picked up. She hung up.

She banged again, and again, and called again and again. Still more silence.

She got back into her car and drove off, dialing Lorelai's cell phone number frantically. Voicemail. She tried again. Ringing. There was ringing.

"Hello?"

A voice!

"Hello! Lorelai?"

" Who is this?" the voice wasn't her.

"Uh, wrong number?" Damn! She thought as she hung up.

She dialed again, more carefully. Voicemail. Her phone must be off.

And so she drove to the only place she could think of: Luke's.

* * *

He looked up as the bells again, and though his face had bore no emotion but disappointment for the past 4 days, he was now completely shocked to see Sookie standing before him.

He wasn't sure what to think, let alone say, but she cut to the chase.

"Luke, is Lorelai here?" He could tell immediately that she was worried, but her face tried hard to hide it from any eavesdroppers.

"No, I haven't seen her in, four- uh, a while," he answered carefully. "Is everything okay?"

He motioned for her to come to the counter, and he took his place behind it, leaning over carefully.

" I haven't talked to her in two days. She called the Inn saying she was going to just finish some paperwork at home, but she hasn't been in since. I was at her house, and the door's locked. No hidden keys, no TV on. The machine picked up every time I called, and her cell phone's either off or dead. I'm worried, Luke," she said honestly.

He didn't answer; he just ran upstairs and returned shortly after, telling Lane to take over. He paused, grabbed coffee to go, two doughnuts and a can of soup.

"Just in case..." he explained as Sookie hid a smile and nodded.

He didn't even bother with his truck; he walked straight to her house, never stopping, with Sookie in tow. He was almost relieved she wasn't avoiding him. At least, he would have been had he not been worried to death. It wasn't like Lorelai to stay locked up in the house for days on end. Especially when Rory wasn't around.

He felt his nervousness rising as he reached her door, and Sookie was right. Locked, no spare keys. He walked around to her kitchen door, suddenly really pissed at himself for fixing that old fashioned lock. But he had anticipated that: he pulled a screwdriver from his back pocket.

"I got it from my toolbox up stairs," he explained shortly.

He carefully picked the lock, and within minutes the door was open, Sookie rushed past to get inside.

"Lorelai!" She called, walking through the house with Luke close behind. He noticed some cabinets open, and he put the coffee and doughnuts on the table, among an insane amounts of coffee scattered about her table. Too much coffee, even for Lorelai. A paradox all it's own.

"Luke, I'm checking upstairs."

"Uh, okay. I'll just be right here," he pointed to the couch but headed to the kitchen instead. He turned on the stove and let the soup cook.

Sookie walked down the hall towards Lorelai's room and just as she was about to open the door, out popped Lorelai, smiling and shutting the door behind her.

"Hey there, Sook," she said, a little too cheerfully.

"Lorelai? What, why... where have you been!" She was shocked; all this time she was worried, and Lorelai had been in bed, seemingly fine. Not even sick.

"Are you sick?" She added quickly, and Lorelai thought for a minute.

" Not sick, per se, just a little under the weather. You know how I get, I take one day off and it just spirals out of control, I get so attached to that bed... Everything's fine... are you okay?" She hoped to God Sookie wouldn't call her on that lie; She hated taking even one day off from the Inn.

"Yeah, I was just worried sick," she said, relieved.

" Well, no need to worry. Uh, how'd you get in?"

"Luke's here."

* * *

He felt weird standing in her house. Sure, he'd been here alone before, but never when Lorelai was missing. He should be helping Sookie, but what was there to help with? She was either in bed, or not. He began to think this was all silly; maybe she just took a last minute vacation; Luke did that all the time.

But then he heard footsteps; more than one pair. And as he walked back into the living room, he felt his stomach drop as he heard her voice.

There she was; in pajamas but looking perfectly fine. She gave him a small smile as she came down the steps, and as she got closer he noticed something different.

"Sorry about the mix-up guys," she was looking straight at him.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

" Yeah... I just wasn't up to work, and once I took one day off, I kinda liked being in bed, uh, so you know.. I figured, what the hell? Why not give myself a longer break...so, that was it. I was just being lazy," she rambled. She didn't have to look up to know Luke didn't believe her. She managed somehow to convince Sookie, but he was a different story.

She glanced up quickly and she saw the doubt on his face. She offered another smile before Sookie spoke up.

" Well, if everything's okay, I'm gonna get back to work. I'll see you tomorrow Lorelai?"

"Yeah, definitely. Thanks, Sook."

She left and Luke followed her into the kitchen.

" Are you cooking something?" she looked at him smiling.

" Oh, I uh, brought some soup. I thought maybe you were sick," he answered, still not sure what to think. It looked to him like she had been crying, but he wasn't sure whether to ask or not. Would that over step his boundary? Obviously she didn't want them to know.

"You thought I would eat soup?"

"If you were sick enough, I thought I could force something almost healthy into your immune system... but I brought coffee and doughnuts too," he replied, then carefully asked, " Are you sure everything's fine?"

He noticed her hesitation, but she quipped, "Besides the fact you want me to eat carrots? Yeah, everything's fine."

He smiled, but she knew he wasn't satisfied. _Dirty. _She couldn't help but think. She took a seat at the table, pushing coffee cans out of the way.

"Luke, everything's fine, really. I just, I didn't feel like dealing with anyone. I'm sure you know what I mean..."

He nodded. It was hard, but Luke was used to ignoring people; it was easy for him, he was the town grouch. But Lorelai had it harder.

"Will you be at the diner later?" He asked, pouring the finished soup into a bowl and placing it in front of her. She raised an eyebrow at him as he sat down.

"At least try it. I don't expect the carrots to be gone."

"I don't wanna eat it. I have perfectly good food here without your soup."

"I saw your cabinets, Lorelai. You have nothing worth eating in here, and besides coffee, you'd dehydrate."

" Not true! I have the water bottle-"

"Which is empty."

"It won't be when you replace it," she smiled, as she played with her soup. "Hmmm, to eat, or not to eat," she teased.

" Eat it."

"Ooh, I love it when you talk dirty," she crooned.

"Ah, jeez, eat _the soup_."

"... I don't think I want to. Want a pop-tart?" she dropped her spoon.

"You're not eating pop-tarts. It's probably all you've eaten for the past four days."

"Wrong again, I have tater tots, too."

"Well that's so much better."

"Well, you eat the soup. Then the carrots will be gone. And I'll eat tater tots. And pop-tarts. I think, if we're lucky, we can share some marsh mellows," she looked through more cabinets, pulled out a bag of marsh mellows and a box of cookies, put some coffee on and asked:

" You want some tea?"

"No thanks, I'm good with the soup," he dead panned and she shrugged before she sat back down.

"I think these marsh mellows are bad... look at them!"

" What am I looking at?" he asked.

"I definitely did not buy green marsh mellows... when did these expire!" she was turning the bag over looking for a date and she noticed Luke watching her.

"What? Seriously, these were white when I bought them..."

"I don't know why you'd eat them no matter what color they are, read the ingredients while you're searching that bag,"

"Oh, eat your carrots," she stuck out her tongue.

"If you don't eat your soup, I'm not giving you coffee for the rest of the week."

She rolled her eyes, but his face was serious.

" You're not kidding..."

"No."

"You can't refuse me coffee," she challenged.

"Oh, I can. Especially since you don't pay for it half the time."

"I don't have to pay anymore!"

" You stopped paying two years ago."

"Not true!"

"Half true, if you don't start eating the soup now, I'm not gonna let you get away with leaving the carrots."

"Evil!"

"Concerned," he said in all seriousness.

"Luke.."

"Soup."

She sighed and picked up the spoon.

"You really don't have to be worried," she said between bites, grimacing the whole time.

"You didn't come to the diner for four days, your doors were locked, no spare keys. You didn't answer your house phone. Your cell phone, previously known to be your _lifeline_, wasn't even on. Then I see what looks like the entire coffee supply of Stars Hallow strewn about your kitchen. You were crying, lied about it, and now you're eating green marsh mellows. For some reason, I think that grants me right to be concerned," he dead panned in a typical Luke way.

She didn't know what to say; he was right.

"Luke- I'm sorry, and you're right, it's just... a lot."

He felt horrible. He shouldn't make her feel bad for being upset; but part of him hurt that she was that upset. Sure, he was mad at the mix-up, and he was upset for awhile, but he was married to Lorelai. There wasn't too much to complain about. Besides the fact that it was a mistake. Not that he wanted to marry her for real, he just knew it could be worse.

"No, you have every right to be upset, the situation is horrible. I just was worried. I don't want you to be miserable," he answered honestly.

"I'm not miserable, I just... wanted a real wedding, you know?"

"You'll have it."

She just nodded. She didn't question him, she just accepted that. Maybe because she believed it, or maybe because she had to. Maybe she wanted it so bad she couldn't believe otherwise. Or maybe it was just the way Luke was looking at her.

"You said strewn..." she laughed, and he rolled his eyes.

"Finish your soup and I'll give you chilli fries with your coffee tonight."

"You really know how to make a girl happy."

* * *

Lorelai headed back to her room once Luke had left. She couldn't help but feel bad for worrying him. She _had _been avoiding him. But she was avoiding the whole town, not only him.

And he still came to check on her. He still brought her coffee, and doughnuts, and soup.

She walked into her bedroom, sighing as she realized her sulking was over. She picked up tissues off her floor and put them into the wastebasket. She stacked the magazines and put them into a pile next to her nightstand. She turned off the TV set, which she forgot to turn off when she heard Sookie.

For the past 3 days, she had stocked her room full of everything she needed: magazines, movies, pop-tarts, water, tissues.

She knew it was silly; she knew it was over dramatic. Crying wasn't going to make her single again, but she needed time. It was a lot like wallowing, only she didn't lose anyone; she gained a husband.

Things were messed up, but at least she had Luke on her side.

She always had Luke on her side.

She just couldn't figure out why that made her nervous.

* * *

Yeah, bad ending? I got a little stuck. But I do know where I'm going for once, so read, review, let me know how bad it sucked, how awesome I am, or just what you thought about this sorry excuse for a chapter. And I'm open to suggestions, because I do get stuck a lot. And I want to know what you guys wanna read. Cause half the time I just type and whatever happens, I post. 

So incite is appreciated. Greatly.

Click the blue button. Yeah, on my computer it's blue. More like Cadet Blue. I'm not complaining though.


	6. Newlyweds Are Allowed

**Author's Note -** Thanks to everyone who left reviews ; I really just wanted to see if people were actually still reading, because I was getting hits, but I got like three reviews, and since I waasn't updating frequently, I assumed that it meant people just weren't interested anymore.

Thanks for that tip scubaluver, Ihad no idea! ... and no, I don't need full out reviews. Just looking for confirmation that people are still reading, so thank you.

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**CHAPTER SIX : Newlyweds are Allowed **

"I need the biggest cup of coffee you have to offer a woman, even if I have to pay, and while you're at it, get me a handgun, scratch that, make it a car bomb. No, we'll go one better, a grenade, some spray paint, somewhere to hide multiple bodies, and hmm, um, a muffin," Lorelai shot off, walking into Luke's and taking over an entire table.

"Anything else, your highness?"

Within the past few weeks, Luke had noticed Lorelai's demeanor had changed tremendously. She was back to her old self, flirting and joking, and eating burgers like it was her job. No more pop-tarts and tater tots; they weren't sure who was happier about that : Luke or Lorelai.

She feigned thought, "World peace, because really, this world has just gone to shambles.. The crime rates these days, seriously. Who has time to be that violent?"

"Says the woman who implied she was committing mass murder," Luke dead panned.

"Long day?" he asked, passing her the muffin.

"Understatement of the year, and that's including when Rory discovered Boy George and called him 'one freaky looking man'."

"She said that when she was ten."

"So?... coffee?"

"So, that means it'd be an understatement of more than a year," he replied, putting a kettle on a back burner of the stove.

"No need for technicalities. Just the coffee, please."

" No coffee, just tea."

"I have no time for jokes, dear husband of mine. Give me the coffee, and if you're gonna put up a fight and be mean, I'll take it to go."

"I've decided to stop selling coffee," he poured a cup of tea.

"Blasphemy! And don't you dare sit that cup in front of me. It won't be pretty. I need coffee, and I need it now. You heard how bad my day was, you went all technical on me. Hand it over. I'll tip you and everything..."

"You can't tip someone when you're not even paying in the first place," he smirked, handing her a large cup of coffee.

"Then I won't use money..." she teased, but he just rolled his eyes.

As he served other customers, Lorelai watched him carefully, knowing full well she was going to have to ask him eventually.

"Whatever it is, no," Luke said as he walked back behind the counter and refilled her mug.

"What?"

"I know that look. You're asking something. You were waiting to get on my good side, then you'll start some sweet talk, batt your eyes and innocently flirt you're way into something that I would never normally consider, and then I'll spend the rest of the day cursing myself for giving in too easily."

"My, my, my, Luke. Aren't we paranoid? How do you know you wanna say no? How do you know I'm even asking you something?"

"You're asking. I know. Now ask, so I can say no."

"You rhymed. And you don't wanna say no."

"Believe me, I want to. Whether I'll get away with it is another story."

"So should we just assume yes, or do I actually have to ask?"

"Told you there was a question. Ask."

"Well, see, I was just hoping... more like thinking. And well.."

"Stop stalling, Lorelai," he smirked. She was nervous. He never saw her nervous.

"I think you should go to dinner with me."

"Dinner?"

"Yeah. Dinner. You know, like I'll wear a dress, you can get out of that flannel, dirty, yes I know, and then we'll go for a drive, eat some dinner, go home."

"Just dinner? That's what you're asking?"

"Yes," she smiled brightly. _There has to be a catch_, he thought.

"Alright, I'll go to dinner," he smiled back.

"Great, I'm just gonna make a quick call and let my mom know.."

"Your mom?"

"Friday Night Dinner, you just agreed," she said, dialing some numbers.

"No cell phones in here, and I'm not going to Friday Night Dinner." He walked away scowling.

"You just agreed."

"I don't care. I didn't know you meant with your parents."

"What'd you think?"

"I thought dinner meant no parents."

"We can go to dinner sans parents another time, if that'll make you happy."

"No."

"Yes."

"No. You tricked me."

"Are you five? You agreed to dinner, we're going to dinner. It's ringing, you can't back out now,"she said, waving the phone in his face as he walked back behind the counter.

"It's not ringing, because you can't use phones in my diner. So technically that phone doesn't exist to me."

"Then how can you see it?"

"Lorelai.."

"Luke."

They were at a stand still. He couldn't go to Friday Night Dinner. But if he went, he got a regular dinner. A date dinner.

"Luke you have to go. We're married."

" You can't pull the 'married' card for everything Lorelai."

"Oh, I can. But even if I couldn't, this is clearly the situation where it's perfectly acceptable... I can't go there alone. Rory's not here, I have no decoy. Plus, they have to know sooner or later, and my mom seemed really mad about something this morning when she called, specifically to request this dinner. Do you know what time she called me Luke? Take a guess!"

He didn't guess. Even if he wanted to, she answered too quickly.

"Six-thirty AM! AM means in the MORNING, Luke. And you know what she said when I told her not to call me at 6:30? She told me that I shouldn't still be in bed. That there's so much to be done in the mornings, and I'm wasting time, letting my life slip away. And that, oh, maybe if I woke up a few hours earlier, I wouldn't be a pathetic waste of life. Now, she didn't use those words exactly, but she was implying... oh, was she implying. And so, I came to the conclusion that you, my loving, dear, understanding husband, would like to accompany your beautiful wife to dinner. At her parents house. And you agreed to dinner."

"Breathe."

"Not til you agree."

"I'll go to your stupid dinner. But we're leaving before dessert, I'm not eating anything I can't pronounce or that looks like it could still be alive, and next week, we're going to a real dinner."

"Deal. Can we get dessert at real dinner?"

"I haven't decided yet," he grumbled.

"But make that tip a good one and I'm sure I could be persuaded..." he added as he started to walk away again.

"Lucas Danes, are you flirting with me?"she asked in shock, turning around to watch him take more orders.

"We're still newlyweds, I think it's allowed."

"Either way," she shrugged.

"I'll see you later," she winked.

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Short again -just a quickfiller. I had to set up for the next chapter, which should be the Friday Night Dinner, so expect that this weekend.

Question - do you guys like shorter chapters, or longer ones? I keep going to exremes, and I was just wondering.

Thanks again for responding!


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